Central women’s soccer team falls to Webster

Women's soccer | Sept. 7, 2013

FENTON, MO.-The Central College women’s soccer team suffered a 3-0 defeat at Webster (Mo.) after a scoreless first half.

The Dutch and Gorloks (4-0), a 2012 NCAA tournament team, were tied at the intermission.

“The first half was great,” coach Mike Kobylinski said. “Webster is a top-25 team who has been in the NCAA tournament a lot. We held them to zero and were even in most stats, so that was fantastic.”

Kobylinski noted the play of goalkeeper Sydney Lunardi (freshman, Bettendorf, Davenport Assumption HS), midfielders Hannah Davy (senior, Cottage Grove, Minn., Park HS) and Molly Potts (senior, Pleasant Hill, Southeast Polk HS) and defender Liz Daniels (junior, Oconomowoc, Wis.). Lunardi played the full 90 minutes and made four saves in her second career start, including two in the first period to preserve the tie.

“Syd made some nice saves early,” said Kobylinski. “Hannah and Liz played lights out all over the field. Molly does not get a lot of praise, but she played every minute and played well. She is the ultimate team player and an inspirational leader.”

But the Webster offense was too much to contain in the second period. The Gorloks scored nine minutes into the period and added a second goal in the 67th minute. Webster closed out the scoring with five minutes remaining in the game.

“In the second half we ran out of gas,” said Kobylinski. “The temperature was in the triple digits on the turf, which took a toll on us a bit. Webster made a lot of subs and we tried to empty our bench, but their depth helped them. They are a very good team and very well coached."

The two teams were statistically even. Central led in shots (12-11) and trailed in shots on goal and corner kicks by only one in each category (7-6 and 4-3, respectively). The Dutch did not commit a foul the entire game.

Davy led the Dutch with three shots, while forward Alayna Bailey (senior, Des Moines, Hoover HS) and midfielder Emily Saville (junior, Cedar Rapids, Linn-Mar HS) each tallied two shots on goal. Central's 12 shots were spread out across eight players.

“This weekend is a test with two top-25 caliber opponents in two days," Kobylinski said. "We are close, but we have some things to work on. We learned a lot today. Our first four games are not going to dictate our season, but we are showing signs of improvement.”

In a short turnaround, the Dutch (2-1) travel to St. Louis, Mo. for Sunday’s game versus Washington-St. Louis (Mo.). Game time is 2 p.m.